Srimad Bhagavatam — Saptama Skandha, Shloka 12
Nārāyaṇa’s Impartiality, Absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and the Jaya–Vijaya Descent
Prelude to Prahlāda’s History
य एष राजन्नपि काल ईशिता सत्त्वं सुरानीकमिवैधयत्यत: । तत्प्रत्यनीकानसुरान् सुरप्रियो रजस्तमस्कान् प्रमिणोत्युरुश्रवा: ॥ १२ ॥
ya eṣa rājann api kāla īśitā sattvaṁ surānīkam ivaidhayaty ataḥ tat-pratyanīkān asurān sura-priyo rajas-tamaskān pramiṇoty uruśravāḥ
O King, this time factor enhances the sattva-guṇa. Thus although the Supreme Lord is the controller, He favors the demigods, who are mostly situated in sattva-guṇa. Then the demons, who are influenced by tamo-guṇa, are annihilated. The Supreme Lord induces the time factor to act in different ways, but He is never partial. Rather, His activities are glorious, and therefore He is called Uruśravā.
The Lord says in Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) , samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be partial; He is always equal to everyone. Therefore when the demigods are favored and the demons killed, this is not His partiality but the influence of the time factor. A good example in this regard is that an electrician connects both a heater and a cooler to the same electrical energy. The cause of the heating and cooling is the electrician’s manipulation of the electrical energy according to his desire, but factually the electrician has nothing to do with causing heat or cold, nor with the enjoyment or suffering that results.
FAQs
This verse states that the Supreme Lord is the controller even as Time itself, directing creation and destruction while maintaining cosmic order.
Because the devas are aligned with sattva (goodness) and dharma, the Lord nourishes that goodness and removes opposing forces driven by rajas and tamas.
Cultivate sattva—truthfulness, self-control, and devotion—so that destructive rajas-tamas tendencies (anger, greed, confusion) are reduced and one lives in harmony with dharma.